The death of the emperor was upon everyone's lips. The land of Cyrodiil was in chaos and there wasn't much that her citizens could do but worry of the political ramifications of his assassinations. Then Kvatch fell and the Oblivion gates tore open a new age of sorry and suffering. It was almost like living in denial, the Imperial capital with its legion and commerce. It seemed like we would never have been the victim of the darkness of Merhunes Dagon.
I spent those last few weeks with my lovely wife Ilyana and our daughter Elisia, gathering the herbs and alchemical ingredients that would be needed for the coming conflict. The guards needed potions and the sad fact stands that war sells, and it sells well. The markets were paying high prices for the ingredients alone and a lowly healer such as myself needed to keep my family supported. I prayed everyday to the Nine Divines for deliverance from this chaos that had so poisoned our lands.
The days dragged on in a dreadfully slow pace. Each day new news of Daaedric sightings and Oblivion gates ripping into our plane poured through whispered rumors and hushed conversations and the capital grew paranoid and afraid. For the first time I could remember, the White Tower looked down upon the city like a grave marker, dull and ancient, like a horrid reminder of what could just as easily become of the all mortal civilization, ruination absolute. It was as if the Temple District was flooded with worried prayer, my own lost in its echo. It was all I could do was hold my family close and pray for deliverance.
As if part of some ironic joke, the final battle came to the capital itself, the Daedric Lord Merhunes Dagon tore through an Oblivion gate and ravaged the city. Ruin and destruction was everywhere as Daedric cult members flooded the street like a wave of insects. Among them the horrid visage of unearthly creatures could be seen, tearing through the guards and innocents alike. It was a night of terror that still haunts my dreams,
I was never much a warrior myself, I rarely carried a dagger with me through the woods to ward of the occasional wolf or the like. I was totally unprepared for the onslaught which befell our humble household. Red robed demons tore down our door and wielded dark weapons of sorcery. I did everything in my power to protect my family. I managed to overpower one of the devils and throw him back into the street, which now flowed with dark blood. It was there that I saw the destructor. My heart cannot fathom what happened next. My wife and child were clenched close to me, the only thing which mattered in my life. The only thing I could never bear to lose. A thunderous strike from Dagon cast down a massive temple. The sky was dark with rubble and it was all I could do but watch as the rain of debris crashed down from the heavens. I prayed to the Nine for a swift death and hoped that my wife and child would be spared. Everything went dark.
I could not tell if a moment or an eternity had passed. I pulled myself from the wreckage, dust and tears choking my eyes. I remembered screaming for Ilyana and Elisia until my voice was lost in my throat. Finally after the dust had cleared, it was ages but was probably a few fleeting moments, I saw the horror which I had dreaded. All of the empire could have fallen that day and still I would not have cared. In a mountain of rubble, I saw their hands, protruding lifeless from the rocks, clawing as if grasping for me. I held on and I wept. I wept as the city around me burned. I cried to the gods to deliver us from this pain,
I merely sat upon the rubble as the sky exploded in a halo of golden light. A shimmering curtain of holy energy washed over everything, as if the gods raged with the fury I felt in my heart. I saw the destroyer as he stood amid the ruins of the temple of Akatosh, Before him, the Dragon god stood in full splendor, the Nine were amongst us! I saw the lord of time rip through the destroyer and cast his soul from our world forever!
It was all too much to bear. Overcome with grief and exaltation, I passed out there, still clutching the hands of my beloved family. I passed into darkness and strange dreams of golden light . The earth beneath me and the soft breeze speaking to me.
“Mara bless and preserve you, tortured soul, your time is not now and there is much for you to do. Trust in the Nine, as they are with you always with you.”
The voice faded and I awoke to cold stone on my back and the cool breeze of the Temple of Mara. I was taken with several refugees to Bravil and it was there that my adventure began…
Ziruas Community Member 
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